L + M (Light and Matter), 1961

Wall object: pasty mass of oil, pigment a. chalk on hard fibre, unique specimen

Dimensions: 57.50 x 57.50 x 5.50 cm

Luther began his artistic path with gestural-informal painting. He tried to overcome traditional panel painting structures, but failed. In 1958, after a trip to Spain, he made a new artistic start. He painted impasto, at first in colour, then exclusively in black, with relief-like, strongly fissured surfaces that protrude into the room. From 1961 onwards, dematerialisation, the destruction of various materials and assemblages followed. In the 1970s, light objects and concave mirror objects became the core of his artistic activity.

Adolf Luther was a lawyer, artist and sculptor and became a main representative of kinetic art and optical art. After receiving his doctorate in law in 1943, he devoted himself to painting as early as 1942 and gave up his profession as a judge in 1957. His early work is characterised by pictures with a strong, monochrome expressiveness. Later, the influences of light, light refraction and reflection effects characterise his work. Luther showed his work in numerous exhibitions, such as the Drian Gallery in London (1960), the Städtische Kunsthalle Düsseldorf (1974) and the Kunsthalle Bremen (1987).